Whas' been going on??

I've been crocheting like a mo', or even a grand mo'. The cafe where many of my wares are sold recently had it's first birthday. Photo's here...In which me and a troupe of multi-talented ladies performed a few songs.

Here's us performing I just can't get enough (I'm playing the melodica)

My birthday was on September the 4th and I received a barrage of lovely presents. However my new room mate (boyfriend moved in in August) gave me some books that top almost everything else

And I've been making more necklace lately. All of them for sale at E for Ethel

Here's a necklace I made out of a ribbon

 I recently received a brand new sewing machine as an early birthday present from my mum [xxo], so the brooch making is getting easier and quicker. I'm very thankful for this. Arthritis runs in my family and I want to keep crafting, playing guitar and drawing well on into my 70's. I plan to be a kick-arse grandma who would make a Dr Who scarf at the drop of a hat.

I'll be once again gracing the Adelaide derby scene with my stuff as I did in May witht the help of Graham Self (thanks love).

As well as this I've been grabbing a coffee whenever I can at 'E' for Ethel. It's lovely being able to chat and have my usual, I even got to film in their the other day for uni, (stay tuned for "Put a beard on it".)


I found my old crocheting needle which is fluro orange with a teddy bear on the end, I think I got it as part of a kiddies knitting pack, and I've made a necklace out of my nanna squares.

I would like to turn this into a business, but I dont want to do it so much that I end up resenting it. Right now, it's my form of meditation after studying and I love it, it's hard to balance it out between study, music and stand up though. Ah well

xo

Nanna nights @ E for Ethel

Hey kids I advise you going down to the cute cafe on melbourne street and improving your craftivism skills, also checkout what port Adelaide residents have been doing, good on you guys xx

tikihead jewellery

What do you do with strange plastic items that seem to be missing their full potential? paint them and give them LIFE! Behold the strangeness of an old traditional carving turned meme for the tattoo world and a design favourite for the rockabilly scene.

All varnished so the paint doesnt chip off. My eyes are killing after working with these guys under a crappy lamp for a few hours. I think I need to update my glasses too, oh well labour of love. Check out the blue guys on my etsy, and any others email me and we can negotiate. Going price on earrings ( for aus) is $8, necklaces $5 . XO

Up on etsy

Finally my anti-tech abilities have waned and I got my shit together. I present you brick-en-brack's first online item:

The prettiest of Kitties by brickenbrack on Etsy

www.etsy.com

"This cuddly little cat is great gift for fans of unique designs. I came up with it while playing with my cat Kiko. She sits with her legs tucked under herself, I call this bread loafing. I thought it was so cute I wanted to create a toy that looked like her doing that. after thousands of crumpled up fail designs I decide this pillow style toy was simple and cute."

I hope this little guy finds a home soon. I promise to put some more stuff up there soon (uni is a time suck) xxoo

Guerilla markets!!

Hey kids i'll be at the wonderful guerilla markets on the 3rd of december, keep reading their blog to find out where it's a suprise :).

 Good to grab some unique xmas presents i'll be selling stuff like this

and this

and this too

as well as some of these

 Come on down December 3rd remember the date and keep an eye on http://guerrillacraftmarket.blogspot.com/

finally setting up for online purchases

Because I'm such a damn luddite I've finally worked this bitch out. Now if I had enough money to put more than one thing up on Etsy I would, but I don't so I won't. However, the circle of cosumerism, the more you buy, the more shit I can sell. Whoo. My fingers are pretty calloused from band practice so It may take me a while. The tiki head necklaces (these beauties)

Will be up for grabs.

For now oyu Adelaideians should by my un-costly gear as a cute xmas present because they are good, and you'd be support the local arts, and they're good.

Love and ethically right desserts
Bridgey

new idea

i've gone on a bit of a bender, researching the art of olde, no not the renaissance I got enough of that in art theory in uni (no it's ok, I understand perspective, no please don't go on)
No I mean flash art tattoos. For example, these pretties

or these

I have started doing embroidery after finding a huge embroidery ring in an op shop for $1. So far I have stitched on a ukulele with ribbons flowing behind it, I wosh I could upload a photo but my phone decided to shit itself, so I'll put up one later. I also made a brooch from this design I found of the craftivism collective site,

I added in the text (I do, thats all I eat!) and got some felt and turned it into this...

more to come... much more, probably more tattoos too

birds roses, bracelettes!!!

New stuff and a new place to find it! I have recently put my stuff into 'E' for ethel.

If you missed me at the gillies street on the 18th of september tis all good, you can find me around the city at
Bimbo- Rundle street,
Little worn Wardrobe- Peel street off Hindley street,
Irving Baby- Twin street off rundle mall,
and now 'E' for Ethel on Melbourne street!

Heres some new stock:

 

 

 

little fabric bracelet with vintage button from Dublin

new little birdy brooches available now

knitted roses available in many different colours and sizes

And heres how Gillies street was, I shared my stall with the lovely Emily who makes specialty plugs (for those with stretched ears) and jewellery, and beautiful Laura who does lots of cool stenciling.

 

more stuff and news and stuff coming soon xxo

New brooch series

I've started making a few brooches I like to call Sugar Bunnies, because the patterns remind me of Day of the dead art from Mexico. I've also started doing some cute squares with rabbits and elephants, I think I'll start doing a veggie series too but for now here are some cool photos of my new stuff. xxoo

The machine is alive!!

Nah it's ok, I'm not going corporate, My sewing machine is in full swing, so I'm able to make more brooches with less callouses and pin wounds. I've started doing more rabbits, because the shapes are quite simple, and I'm making some huge brooches for those who want something a little different. I've started doing a bit of embroidery too, one big brooch is of a sparrow with green tinges on its feathers, these are going to be a little more expensive though because embroidery is time consuming and painful for the eyes and back. Also I keep forgetting to wear my glasses.
On another note...
I was looking through my photos of Europe and found some jewellery thats at the British museum, some gold earrings, including stretchers.


gold necklace




Roman earrings

 Just thought they were cool xxo

Over the sea.... over the sea....

Having a good time abroad. I have bought so many things including bright blue boots and bright green slip on shoes, and we have visited many cities including:
London
Edinburgh (Keen to live in)
Dublin
Paris
Lucerne
Brunen
Florence (also keen to live in)
Venice
Austria (drove through)
Munich
Rhein Valley
Amsterdam (Also keen to live in)

heres a poster of Phillip the lead singer of Thin Lizzy, Dublin seems to have dubbed him as their prodical son of eighties rock, one pub had a bronze statue of him.

The trip has been very quick and we are coming to our last week. This was a lovely month of sampler holiday destinations. I'll have thousands of photos to put up when we get back but the main thing I'm looking forward to is to hug my kitten kiko. xxoo

Talk Derby to me

Well done to the Road train Rollers (the girls in blue and black) for winning the last game against the Wild hearses. Wild Hearses, you are still amazing.

I decided to make some roller skates for the wonderful punters of Adelaide Roller derby and have decided to make thm a permanent addition to my stock list...

They will come in many different colours etc. If you want to customise one of these brooches, or a piano...

Or an animal...

Please don't hesitate to email me at brickenbrackdiy@gmail.com. 

On another note, I'm going to be in Europe from June till late July so stock making will cease for a bit, but my stuff is available at BIMBO on rundle street in the city, Little Worn Wardrobe just off Hindley street, and Irving baby just off Rundle mall.

XOXO



yesterday I made a partner for the first owl brooch I made.

 

I thought he looked lonely. So I made the girl with some vintage material my grandma gave me and I like her better now. sorry little dude. I gave her big Elizabeth Taylor eyes that overlap her body and little white bits to make them look more animated, then I gave him some white bits too. better contrast now.

They look much better. These will be simple to replicate too. She's my new favourite brooch. It will be hard to sell her.

XO

How I do this

My brooches, toys and toy cosy's are priced on the time I spend on making the thing and whether or not I bought extra stuff for decoration etc.

I get alot of material for free because of my nana's and aunties. Other reliable source are op shops- city ones and church ones, Garage sales- although they can be a hit or miss, and Markets- I got a few materials from Gillies street and The vintage market.

Gillies street market

I like using treasures that people throw away for my textiles.Many things are turned into jewellery these days, such as doilies, cutlery, microchips, coins, keys, lego

photo found at http://en.wikipedia.org

buttons, ribbons, old toys, old quilts, ex-clothes, wooden scraps, old type writer keys- although if you have a type writer in a good condition, don't gut the poor thing. It's too cool to take apart, chances are if you don't want it you'll be able to sell it to someone who will.

Photo found at vpsopenminds.com

Clock gears are good if your looking for a steam punk audience, and beads will be forever useful.

Photo from parrotsplaybirdtoys.com

I have seen someone melt an old vinyl until it was tiny, then mould it into a flower shape and stick a brooch backing on. Pretty cool.

Viva DIY xxo